Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by SMOKEnPipesJim on February 17, 2008 at 2:18am

Well Joel, In todays world of de stupidphying everything so Nothing can happen, Bourke eye shields Don't protect your eyes its possible if your standing on your head to have debris hit you in the eye, causing eye injuries... lets noteven consider expecting bourkes to protect you when using power tools, hurst tools, torchs rescue devices etc. even though they are stronger then other types of unsimilar faceshields.. that areequallynon compliant. The only compliant eye protection are goggles...sono debris can enter the eye ....simple as that...Now that all being said, I can tell you from experiance that I was overhauling on the 2nd floor @a house fire back around 1992 and To be honest it was prolly the 1st time I ever even pulled down my bourkes, but I am usually wearing my cheaters (glasses) anyway ...I saw this burning ball of fire in sow motion come up under the bourkes (even with my head tilted down) and up Under my glasses , I crindged and found my way out with My partner, and lemme tell you after two hours of flushing with saline feels like nothing else.. turned out the burning brand,not only Burned inside upper and lower lids but lacerated both and Lacerated My cornea as well.. The damage healed, I wouldn't wantto go through it again, nor would I want anyone else to deal withsuch an injury, Butitwas a fraek thing, If I hadn't been wearing any protection at all, It most likely would never have happened, and of course now adays we always wear our Scba when overhauling .......... the "blast shields" are deployed farther from your face butthey only looked at "fuller face protection" eyes/ Nose and if youtilt your head down , "most of your face" ,, but I proved angle of deflection can bemore then 15 degress and still getcha.. Had I been wearing something that looks stupid .. blah blah blah..lol Coulda shoulda if... if.... if.....:)

Permalink Reply by Tristan on February 19, 2008 at 12:45am

They're not ANSI and they melt. Goggles have the same problem...get in a few good fires, and they get smoked up and they're useless. The new NFPA standard on gear says that eye protection no longer has to be on helmets. I use safety glasses and have them in my pocket, and still have bourkes on my helmet.

Permalink Reply by Joel C Kelley on February 24, 2008 at 9:58pm

OKAY. I thought that faceshields were NFPA, is that incorrect? I asked the question based on the ides that shields were compliant and Bourkes were not. Mine fit right to my cheekbones so they provide protection that a faceshield cannot.

Permalink Reply by Drew Lyman on February 25, 2008 at 8:31am

Faceshields are NFPA compliant... as secondary eye protection. You still need safety glasses, goggles or an SCBA mask under them as your primary eye protection.

So why even bother with faceshields? Just keep safety glasses in your pocket.

Permalink Reply by Greg on March 7, 2008 at 9:04am

As long as you are carrying other approved eye protection, either on the helmet or in your gear then you are compliant.
Greg

Permalink Reply by Joel C Kelley on March 7, 2008 at 1:54pm

That's what I gather from the rest of the discussion. I keep a cheap air of goggles on the lid too, so I have no worries. I was just really impressed with how well the Bourkes fit my face, right against my cheekbones, and I wondered why on earth they were not compliant!

Permalink Reply by Mike on April 20, 2008 at 8:14pm

All of my lids have bourkes. Honestly they are just there for looks, cuz after a few good jobs they wouldn't be any good to see through, so I just keep a pair of safety glasses in my pocket.

Permalink Reply by Keenan Mulvaney on April 20, 2008 at 9:58pm

Ah do not lie! You know it is just because they look good! I have bourkes, I have lost my goggles long ago, and now I just carry safety classes. You know those are for looks ;)

Permalink Reply by Bobby King on April 21, 2008 at 2:00am

I always thought it had to do with the diffrence in melting temps on them.. Personally I like the Bourkes and the way they look I just seen the Way My dad looked when He had his Crown on and Its the 6 yr old in Me that wanted to look just like em lol

Permalink Reply by SMOKEnPipesJim on April 21, 2008 at 12:19pm

Gawd... Bourkes were designed at a time when there was little else in the way of any eye protection at all, SCBA's were out there but certainly never worn as they are today... during the time frame, the only other device /manufacturer was the "plectron shield " which was also a lighter polycarbonate "blast shield" that was as in the way and as obsurable, crackable and subseptible to damage as anything often they cracked in half from abuse... the Bourkes were Thicker and designed to help protect your eyes when pulling ceilings ... and minimally help protect your when eyes when using saws and cutting tools torchesbut of course the protection was minimal.. NFPA stepped in and stated that They and other blast shields Dont protect your eyes in all situations , and frankly neither will goggles or anything else because anything is possible .... It is possible to melt bullet proof glass too... ... ( a running Joke at a local police department was IF anyone with a gun enters the lobby , jump on top of the consol desk, because The bullet proof glass will protect you a lot better then the two layers of sheetrock on metal studs Under the glass.............
if you putfire resistive covering on your bourkes theywould stay clean enough to see through, But the cover would obscure your vision... If your inside a burning building your supposed to be wearing your SCBA... hours after the fire is out the burned materials are off gassing nasty things..., so to be safe, dontstay home in bed, because you might have a fire there , better go lay down outside in your yard, and hope no bords fly over and crap on you, no aircraft engines fall off or people fall out of cargo bays, No trees fall nearby and no extra terrestrial hings fall out of the sky on top of you... It might saferat the beach.. Nope... n/m.....lol

Permalink Reply by joe on April 23, 2008 at 9:57pm

again this is something that has been stuck in the fire service and they won't leave. your best bet is to have goggles or sfty glasses in your gear. remember you only have one set of them . i have both bourkes and and sheild and still wear goggles or glass no matter what . when needed.

Permalink Reply by John Robinson on April 27, 2008 at 12:19am

Somewhere around here I have a letter that the Metro Boston health and safety committee sent to the NFPA asking them to consider the Bourkes for approval.

Some of the things cited were that fact that the full faceshield would catch on things and impart torsion to the firefighter's neck, the fact that the bourques deployed faster, locked in place easier, and were closer to the eyes, giving superior protection from underneath.
The committee said that hazards coming from underneath had been caught by the full shields and directed back toward the firefighters face, when they would have passed by the bourque shields.

I'll continue to look for the letter, but it's been a long time since I was on the Health and Safety committee, so I probably won't find it.

An SCBA mask with the regulator detached probably gives you the best face protection, but if you're not in the habit of carrying the mask when you aren't wearing the tank, that is probably no help. Our department assigned a personal SCBA mask to each FF, so it was possible to dump the tank and keep the mask. If your department assigns a mask to each SCBA unit, that may not be possible.

I think the most important thing about gear is that YOU are confident in it and comfortable with it. Sounds like you like the bourques, so they're probably the right choice for you.